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Monday, June 29, 2015

In the Shadows: Granite Falls gets a brewery

First off, Granite Falls is not on the way to anywhere. The road from Arlington to Darrington, SR 530 via Oso and much in the news last year, bypasses Granite Falls on its tour of the Snohomish County outback. But it was on my map since I had a pint of a delicious basil-flavored ale at the nano brewers' night at the Local several months ago. Made by In The Shadows Brewing, with an address in Arlington but a physical location here in Granite Falls. Opened last October and open by appointment only, so, cell phone in hand, I went there and asked if I might stop by. Access granted.

My host, the brewer and co-owner of In the Shadows, is Cole Rinehardt, pictured here in the center of the 240 sq, ft, brewhouse he built in the back yard of his home, on the banks of the South Fork of the Stillaguamish. As Cole tells the story, "I'd been home brewing for a number of years, kept upgrading equipment and buying more exotic ingredients, until my wife Sarah said one day, 'we have more outgo on your brewing every year--isn't it about time we see a little income from it?' So we raised the money--I even sold my '69 Mustang. one sweet car, to set up a commercial grade brewery."
So Cole set out to do just that. He brews 37 gallons per batch, a barrel plus a sixtel. He keeps his day job, an engineer at Boeing in Everett, and shows his engineering skills in some of the features of his system. Over Cole's shoulder is his wort chilling apparatus, an array of double copper pipes with warm wort flowing one way through the inner pipe and cold water passing the other direction in the outer pipe.

In the yard. otherwise the play area for the couple's two young sons, Cole is growing hops on three trellises. East Kent Golding is thriving in the foreground and Cascade hops are also doing well out toward the street. These will be picked and used come harvest time.
The standard rotation is an IPA, a pale, and an amber ale. That basil treat I had earlier this year? A seasonal, the full name being Honey Basil Lemon, a pint of which I enjoyed just as much this visit as the first time. Cole bottles most of his production, in 12s and 22s, for about a dozen current retailers: the Barbecue Bucket in downtown Granite Falls tries to keep the 12 oz bottles on hand all the time for on-premise consumption.
Cole and Sarah opened In the Shadows last October, and when a first anniversary rolls around with fresh-hopped ales, I wouldn't be surprised if the income side of the ledger is looking pretty healthy.
(Visited 06/25/15)